Uighur Militants Threaten Olympic Attacks, U.S. Monitor Says
By Ed Johnson
Aug. 8 (Bloomberg) -- An Uighur Islamic militant group released a second videotape threatening to attack the Olympic Games and warning Muslims to stay away from Beijing venues, according to a U.S. intelligence group that monitors terrorist communications.
The video, released by the Turkistan Islamic Party and dated Aug. 1, shows a burning Olympic logo and an explosion imposed over one of the venues, according to IntelCenter, based in Alexandria, Virginia.
``Muslim brothers and sisters, please do not send your children to China for today's Olympic athletic games,'' IntelCenter cited the group as saying in the almost 6-minute video in the Uighur language. It also warns Muslims to avoid taking public transport with Chinese, including buses, trains and planes.
Western intelligence analysts have linked the Turkistan Islamic Party to the East Turkistan Islamic Movement, the South China Morning Post newspaper reported today. China has cited the ETIM, which is trying to establish an independent state for ethnic Uighurs in the western Xinjiang region, as the biggest threat to China's Olympic security.
The Turkistan Islamic Party, which says it opposes China's ``occupation'' of Xinjiang, released a similar video July 23, according to IntelCenter, which provides counterterrorism intelligence support to the U.S., British, Australian and Canadian armed forces
Bus Bombings
In that recording, it claimed responsibility for bus bombings in Shanghai in May and in southwestern Yunnan province last month. China's Foreign Ministry said July 29 there was no evidence linking the bus explosions in Yunnan's Kunming city to the group.
``The threat is credible and should be taken seriously,'' IntelCenter said in an e-mailed statement today. The release of the videos and a 5-page written statement ``is indicative of an orchestrated campaign designed to fulfill jihadists' belief that they should provide warning before launching a significant attack.''
China has readied a 100,000-strong anti-terrorism force, and said last month it detained 82 suspected terrorists in Xinjiang for allegedly plotting attacks on the Olympics.
The military has deployed 74 fighter jets, 48 helicopters and 33 vessels to protect the Games. Anti-aircraft rocket launchers have been installed at the Chinese capital's main Olympic stadium, known in the media as the Bird's Nest.
Sixteen policemen were killed at a border patrol station in Xinjiang on Aug. 4 when two men drove a dump truck into a group of officers jogging outside their barracks, state-run Xinhua news agency reported this week.
They threw two grenades into the compound and also attacked police with knives, according to Xinhua, which said the two suspects detained were ethnic Uighurs, a predominantly Muslim minority group in the region.
To contact the reporter on this story: Ed Johnson in Sydney at ejohnson28@bloomberg.net.
Last Updated: August 7, 2008 20:58 EDT
